Dr Lai Jiunn Herng

Dr Lai Jiunn Herng is a general surgeon practising at Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Singapore. He specialises in colorectal surgery, endoscopy and proctology. His subspecialties include minimally invasive and robotic colorectal surgery, advanced endoscopy and new techniques in piles and anal fistula surgery.

Dr Lai treats colorectal cancer using minimally invasive techniques, which comprise advanced laparoscopic and robotic-assisted colorectal resections, single port laparoscopy, trans-anal endoscopic operations. His repertoire also includes endoscopic mucosal resection, advanced pelvic surgery, colonic stenting and complex anal fistula surgery.

Dr Lai obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Medicine and Surgery from the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 1998. He went on to obtain his Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2004, and received his Master of Medicine in Surgery from NUS in 2005. He completed his advanced surgical training and was awarded the Fellowship of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 2009. His interest also led him to attain a Diploma of Laparoscopic Surgery from the University of Strasbourg, France in 2010. Dr Lai completed a Health Manpower Development Programme (HMDP) fellowship in laparoscopic colorectal surgery at the University of Hong Kong, Queen Mary Hospital in 2012.

Dr Lai spent 18 years in the public sector and was a consultant surgeon in the Department of Colorectal Surgery at the Singapore General Hospital. He was in the advanced laparoscopic and robotic surgery team which spearheaded the training and development of minimally invasive techniques in colorectal surgery. As a member of the SingHealth-SGH Endoscopy Privileging Harmonisation Committee, Dr Lai revised endoscopy privileging and training criteria for SingHealth specialists and surgical residents.

Passionate about surgical and endoscopic simulation training, Dr Lai was Platform Director of the Endoscopy Platform in the DukeSingHealth Surgical Simulation Centre, where he coordinated and conducted endoscopic simulation courses for local and regional participants. He has an advanced certification as an instructor in simulation-based surgical and critical care team training.

Dr Lai held appointments in undergraduate and postgraduate teaching at the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School, and the SingHealth General Surgical Residency Programme.

Dr Lai is a faculty member at the Asia Pacific Endo-Laparoscopy Surgery (APELS) group, and is actively involved in the twice-yearly lower gastrointestinal endo-laparoscopic workshops, where he trains surgeons from the Asia-Pacific region. He is a part-time tutor for undergraduate medical students at the Duke-NUS Graduate School of Medicine Surgical Programme. He is also a certified Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) instructor and teaches up-to-date ACLS skills to doctors on a regular basis.

Dr Lai is Immediate Past President of the Society of Colorectal Surgeons, Singapore (SCRS). He sits on the Board of Directors of the Asia Pacific Endo-Laparoscopy Surgery (APELS) group, and is actively involved in endo-laparoscopic workshops and teaching in the Asia Pacific region. He is a lifetime member of the Endoscopic and Laparoscopic Surgeons of Asia (ELSA), with an interest in teaching surgeons in developing countries techniques of abdominal and laparoscopic surgery.

Dr Lai is actively involved in public education. He sits on the committee for Singapore Cancer Society Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month (CCAM), which conducts year-round events to educate the public on colorectal cancer and perform cancer screening. He has been actively giving public talks for the Singapore Cancer Society since 2007. Dr Lai is one of the regular speakers for the charity Brahm Centre, focusing on topics on health and digestive wellness. As an advisor for the SGH Colorectal Cancer Support Group, he has been conducting cancer recovery seminars and lectures for colorectal cancer survivors since 2009. He is involved in cancer survivor counselling and recovery as the doctor in attendance at the Quarterly Bowel Meetings organised by the cancer support group.